Against the backdrop of the success of an unprecedented long march from Nashik to Mumbai by Maharashtra farmers, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) is holding its national general council meeting here from March 23 to 26.
The 180-km long march, defying the sweltering March sun, by around 40,000 small and marginal farmers, led by the Left-leaning All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), has been a huge morale booster for the trade union movement in the country as well as to the Left which had been smarting under the Tripural electoral loss.
This success will, naturally, be reflected in the four-day meeting of the CITU, being held in the only State ruled by the Left.
“The Mumbai success has been a very powerful confidence building measure (CBM) for the mass movements in the country, especially to the trade unions,” A.K. Padmanabhan, current vice president and former president of CITU, told The Hindu . However, he noted that it was the culmination of a three-year-long struggle.
Mr. Padmanabhan hoped the general council meeting, which would also see a meeting of senior leaders of other large national labour unions, could be a platform for future mass campaigns by unions and mass organisations. Ashok Dhawale, president of AIKS, would be sharing the experience of the Maharashtra struggle.
Mr. Padmanabhan said a general platform of major national unions, including the INTUC, had been in place since 2009 and the general council meeting would decide to strengthen it.
Updating document
The general council, the policy-making body of the CITU, is being held for the first time after the 15th national conference held at Puri, Odisha. It is expected to make drastic changes to the organisational document of the union. The changes will reflect the current realities in the trade union movement, Indian economy and the global scenario.
“A major task of the general council will be updating the 25-year organisational document,” confirmed Mr. Padmanabhan.
“The document was adopted at the Bhubaneswar conference and needs to reflect the changes taken place in the interregnum.” Some of the changes on the labour front include the rising trend of employing contract workers instead of permanent workers across the economy.
P.K. Mukundan, CITU’s Kozhikode district secretary, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would address the mass rally to be held on March 26 to mark the conclusion of the council meeting. Union president K. Hemalatha would open the meeting on March 23.
